Consumption in Polish households - production function parameters and monetary value of non-market goods

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to estimate the parameters of the household production function as well as assessing the monetary value of the goods and services produced. The existence of jointness seems to be supported not only by sheer intuition, but also by the results of the calculations presented in this study. In order to supplement the statistical material included in the timeuse database, data from the surveys on household budgets as well as remuneration structure by occupation were used. The results of the present study are similar to the findings published in other articles in the respect that market goods as inputs in the production process have been found to play a greater role in determining its value than the time spent by spouses. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, the elasticity of production relative to market goods is clearly greater than its elasticity in terms of time expenditure. So, if material inputs in household production are the function of their earnings, the latter will be one of the most important factors differentiating the value of the nonmarket production outputs of individuals.